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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 15, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 15, 2007
 
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City can't afford to clean up spill (Continued from page 1.) There will be additional sam- piing and testing of soil and an overall report will be submitted to the Washington Department of Ecology, Michael said. The site will go on a list with the Department of Ecology as a contaminated site. Somewhere down the road, the city could be asked to clean up the site, he added. The city could also be required to pay up-front costs while seeking reimbursement from a liable party. There formerly were two gas stations on corners at First and Franklin. Michael said earlier the probable source of' the con- tamination was underground gasoline storage tanks that once were at those stations. THE DEPARTMENT of Ecology has not been very ac- tive about going after commu- nities once such sites are iden- tifed, Michael said. As long as the soils aren't disturbed, the department is less concerned, he added. Three weeks ago, the city announced two sites contami- nated by gasoline were discov- ered during work on the Basin 2 project. A second site, at Fourth and Franklin, is currently being cleaned up by the Basin 2 con- tractor, Gary Merlino Construc- tion Company of Seattle. Soil tested from the First and Franklin site came back with high levels of gasoline, and sam- ples also indicated the possible presence of benzene, a highly carcinogenic substance, Michael noted last week in a briefing memo to the commissioners. Ebbeson said the First and Franklin intersection will be closed three to four days for the Basin 2 work. That work will probably be done the week af- ter Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, work at Fourth and Franklin is nearing completion. The con- tractor is slated to pave the area this Friday, depending on the weather. Hood Canal SCHOOL November 19-23 MONDAY: Breakfast: Pancakes with syrup, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch: 'lhco saladbar, brownie, milk. TUESDAY: Breakfast: Yogurt, gra- ham cracker, fruit, juice, mqlk. Lunch: Thanksgiving Luncheon, Parents, Grandparents, and Friends are invited. WEDNESDAY: Breakfast: Cinna- mon roll, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch: Hotdog in cheese, baby carrots, apple, orange, animal cookie, milk. THURSDAY: ThanksgivingBreak, No School. FRIDAY: Thanksgiving Break, No School. Sponsored by:  Hoodsport' • N. 24341 Hwy. 101 • 877-5272 A SLOWDOWN IN the housing market isn't stopping this worker from building a new home north of Shelton on Brockdale Road. 00rices and permits pointing o a turn in housing market ason County housing slumped two fronts in October as home dropped and permits tbr 'Construction of new homes ed. lty and county building depart- ts reported the issuance of just :r $5.25 million in permits for iw dwellings last month. That )ares to reports of 47 proposed lings valued at just over $8 an in September and 55 pro- dwellings valued a just over illion permitted in October of tear. The Northwest Multiple :lg Service, a Realtors' orga- tttion, reports that more homes for sale but fewer dwellings hranging hands at a slightly price. The NMLS's ever-up- ', officers say it s a perfect buy- lla ..... rKe in the 19-county area is 23 percent lower than the num- ber which sold in October of last year, but more houses for sale and fewer people buying them have not translated into lower prices here. According to the listing ser- vice report on the market in Ma- . son County: • The median price of the 88 home sales that were finalized last month was $201,000, with median representing the price of the home in the middle of the pack. Half sold for more and half sold for less. Oc- tober 2006 had more sales at low- er prices, with the 114 finalized transactions at a median price of $195,340. • Year-to-date numbers indi- cate that October was no fluke. There were 818 sales with a me- dian price of $210,000 through the first 10 months of this year, com- great majority of buyers who have some money but not a lot. The av- erage price tends to magnify the importance of homes that are very expensive or very cheap, and in the case of Mason County there are some big bucks causing the average to defy gravity by soaring high above the median. The average price of a home that sold here last month was $260,497, which is 6.8 percent higher than the average of October 2006 and 29.6 percent above last month's median. The average price of pend- ing sales suggests that November might soften things up tbr pricey dwellings too. The average price of a sale pending on October 31 was $225,110, which is 15.7 percent lower that the average closing price and 9.1 percent lower than by the organization. ey point to historical trends pared to 1,096 sales with a median the average price of sales pending ting that a boom of six or price of $190,750 through the first (Please turn to page 9.) years tends to be followed by 10 months of last year. :'year decline. "This decline • Pending sales suggest the  -' 1 I :' "'' eSents an ideal opportunity market maytake a turn for the 0 BOOK STORE tly because homes can be pur- benefit of buyers in November. As ,,d at a premium value, and of October 31, there were 68 sales !s exactly what we're experi: pending as compared to 112 on the i ' ' ' " ' [g n the Puget Sound region, same date of 2006 but this year s  :)O1' [floe Spencer, the director of pending median is lower, $194,450 .e listing service. , compared to $194,975 at the end zl"l '=i  O  O -- • s so-called perfect buyers of October of last year. Also lower } .- Local Author ' etis driven by a growingin- for the first time in quite a while is "'€ I/I/el¢omlng Back e .IT of homes for sale, with the the median price of houses still on "Wellings °n the l°cal market the market' $249'900 c°mpared t° l ,a/ !-   :ii :   1 ,  !I October 31 representing an $249,950 for active listings in Oc-  ase of 210 homes, or 33 per- tober 2006. OVer the 637 on the market as REALTORS LIKE to talk same date in 2006. about the median price because it tTTHE SAME time, the num- is thought to bea better measuring 00a'ur-" a-. or homes that sold last month stick than the average price for the November 17th Noon - 3pm Debbie will be signing copies of her new book Where Angels Go 116 W. Railroad Ave. Suite 102 - Shelton, WA 98584 [ M-TH 7-6:00 O X O CAStor 360-426-601 I Phone FRI 7-7:00 [[] C, ECK 360-426-6012 Fax ,.,,s e...n,..,.,,s e" SAT 7"5:30 ,f.f,,,...,M,.,o, SUN 8:3,0-4:00 i113 E. Shelton Springs Road (Same road as high school.) November 16 & 17 Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Gifts& Thursday, November 15, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 7 City can't afford to clean up spill (Continued from page 1.) There will be additional sam- piing and testing of soil and an overall report will be submitted to the Washington Department of Ecology, Michael said. The site will go on a list with the Department of Ecology as a contaminated site. Somewhere down the road, the city could be asked to clean up the site, he added. The city could also be required to pay up-front costs while seeking reimbursement from a liable party. There formerly were two gas stations on corners at First and Franklin. Michael said earlier the probable source of' the con- tamination was underground gasoline storage tanks that once were at those stations. THE DEPARTMENT of Ecology has not been very ac- tive about going after commu- nities once such sites are iden- tifed, Michael said. As long as the soils aren't disturbed, the department is less concerned, he added. Three weeks ago, the city announced two sites contami- nated by gasoline were discov- ered during work on the Basin 2 project. A second site, at Fourth and Franklin, is currently being cleaned up by the Basin 2 con- tractor, Gary Merlino Construc- tion Company of Seattle. Soil tested from the First and Franklin site came back with high levels of gasoline, and sam- ples also indicated the possible presence of benzene, a highly carcinogenic substance, Michael noted last week in a briefing memo to the commissioners. Ebbeson said the First and Franklin intersection will be closed three to four days for the Basin 2 work. That work will probably be done the week af- ter Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, work at Fourth and Franklin is nearing completion. The con- tractor is slated to pave the area this Friday, depending on the weather. Hood Canal SCHOOL November 19-23 MONDAY: Breakfast: Pancakes with syrup, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch: 'lhco saladbar, brownie, milk. TUESDAY: Breakfast: Yogurt, gra- ham cracker, fruit, juice, mqlk. Lunch: Thanksgiving Luncheon, Parents, Grandparents, and Friends are invited. WEDNESDAY: Breakfast: Cinna- mon roll, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch: Hotdog in cheese, baby carrots, apple, orange, animal cookie, milk. THURSDAY: ThanksgivingBreak, No School. FRIDAY: Thanksgiving Break, No School. Sponsored by:  Hoodsport' • N. 24341 Hwy. 101 • 877-5272 A SLOWDOWN IN the housing market isn't stopping this worker from building a new home north of Shelton on Brockdale Road. 00rices and permits pointing o a turn in housing market ason County housing slumped two fronts in October as home dropped and permits tbr 'Construction of new homes ed. lty and county building depart- ts reported the issuance of just :r $5.25 million in permits for iw dwellings last month. That )ares to reports of 47 proposed lings valued at just over $8 an in September and 55 pro- dwellings valued a just over illion permitted in October of tear. The Northwest Multiple :lg Service, a Realtors' orga- tttion, reports that more homes for sale but fewer dwellings hranging hands at a slightly price. The NMLS's ever-up- ', officers say it s a perfect buy- lla ..... rKe in the 19-county area is 23 percent lower than the num- ber which sold in October of last year, but more houses for sale and fewer people buying them have not translated into lower prices here. According to the listing ser- vice report on the market in Ma- . son County: • The median price of the 88 home sales that were finalized last month was $201,000, with median representing the price of the home in the middle of the pack. Half sold for more and half sold for less. Oc- tober 2006 had more sales at low- er prices, with the 114 finalized transactions at a median price of $195,340. • Year-to-date numbers indi- cate that October was no fluke. There were 818 sales with a me- dian price of $210,000 through the first 10 months of this year, com- great majority of buyers who have some money but not a lot. The av- erage price tends to magnify the importance of homes that are very expensive or very cheap, and in the case of Mason County there are some big bucks causing the average to defy gravity by soaring high above the median. The average price of a home that sold here last month was $260,497, which is 6.8 percent higher than the average of October 2006 and 29.6 percent above last month's median. The average price of pend- ing sales suggests that November might soften things up tbr pricey dwellings too. The average price of a sale pending on October 31 was $225,110, which is 15.7 percent lower that the average closing price and 9.1 percent lower than by the organization. ey point to historical trends pared to 1,096 sales with a median the average price of sales pending ting that a boom of six or price of $190,750 through the first (Please turn to page 9.) years tends to be followed by 10 months of last year. :'year decline. "This decline • Pending sales suggest the  -' 1 I :' "'' eSents an ideal opportunity market maytake a turn for the 0 BOOK STORE tly because homes can be pur- benefit of buyers in November. As ,,d at a premium value, and of October 31, there were 68 sales !s exactly what we're experi: pending as compared to 112 on the i ' ' ' " ' [g n the Puget Sound region, same date of 2006 but this year s  :)O1' [floe Spencer, the director of pending median is lower, $194,450 .e listing service. , compared to $194,975 at the end zl"l '=i  O  O -- • s so-called perfect buyers of October of last year. Also lower } .- Local Author ' etis driven by a growingin- for the first time in quite a while is "'€ I/I/el¢omlng Back e .IT of homes for sale, with the the median price of houses still on "Wellings °n the l°cal market the market' $249'900 c°mpared t° l ,a/ !-   :ii :   1 ,  !I October 31 representing an $249,950 for active listings in Oc-  ase of 210 homes, or 33 per- tober 2006. OVer the 637 on the market as REALTORS LIKE to talk same date in 2006. about the median price because it tTTHE SAME time, the num- is thought to bea better measuring 00a'ur-" a-. or homes that sold last month stick than the average price for the November 17th Noon - 3pm Debbie will be signing copies of her new book Where Angels Go 116 W. Railroad Ave. Suite 102 - Shelton, WA 98584 [ M-TH 7-6:00 O X O CAStor 360-426-601 I Phone FRI 7-7:00 [[] C, ECK 360-426-6012 Fax ,.,,s e...n,..,.,,s e" SAT 7"5:30 ,f.f,,,...,M,.,o, SUN 8:3,0-4:00 i113 E. Shelton Springs Road (Same road as high school.) November 16 & 17 Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Gifts& Thursday, November 15, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 7